Staff at Island Seafare Limited were ’relieved’ as a second shipment of live lobster and fresh scallops, which travelled via Scotland, finally arrived at its destination in Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The Manx load of shellfish left the island on Monday night and took a 150-mile detour from Heysham to Bellshill near Glasgow en-route to the south of England.

It finally arrived in the Northern France fishing port at 10am yesterday (Wednesday).

It was a similar mission to one week before as Manx fishing bosses battle to grapple with ’huge’ issues such as paperwork and red tape at the Channel ports in the wake of Brexit.

Nick Pledger, managing director of Port St Mary based Island Seafare, said: ’Last week there was a punch of the air and this week it was a feeling of relief more than anything.’

The company was left ’with no other choice’ to travel via Scotland after their normal logistic routes and hauliers were temporarily suspended. But he said the good news was that they are hoping to return to their normal route, via Grimsby, with their next shipment, possibly later this week.

The Isle of Man Government says it is working closely with the seafood industry to explore support options in light of the obstacles it is facing since the UK exited Europe on January 1. The island’s seafood sector, including processing, is worth around £20m a year.

Environment minister Geoffrey Boot said: ’The seafood sector is extremely important to the island and the combined impact of the UK’s exit from Europe on top of the pandemic has presented obstacles that must be overcome.

’It is a rapidly evolving situation and we are actively considering the requirement for financial support and we are working with businesses to help.’

Mr Pledger said: ’I agree with the minister’s comments and welcome the support.

’Only by having a diverse customer base across a broad number of markets and sectors has the seafood industry been able to continue trading in such extreme conditions.’